Ever wondered why when people are exposed to an illness (let’s say somebody enters the work place with a cough) some people succumb and others do not?

For decades our focus has been on eradiating the germ (or mirco-organism). The term micro-organisms defines organisms that are too small to see with the naked eye e.g. bacteria, fungus, virus, etc. When we take antibiotics we are looking to kill the micro-organism to rid ourselves of the disease.

If this is the case, why then do some people remain unaffected? If it is all about the micro-organism then surely everybody who is exposed will suffer.

It is a valid argument to answer that the non-sufferers are already immune because they may have been exposed to the micro-organism before (learnt immunity). However this argument does not hold true when we consider new micro-organisms. Recent examples would be the bird flu or ebola. Here nobody has learnt immunity as nobody has been exposed to it before. Therefore these outbreaks should be catastrophic affecting hundreds of millions of people. Yet they do not, why?

Lets go back to basics and look at the definition of mirco-organism disease. Wikipedia uses this very clear definition
“These small organisms, too small to see without magnification, invade humans, animals, and other living hosts. Their growth and reproduction within their hosts can cause a disease”

We have highlighted the key phrase in the definition here; growth and reproduction. The micro-organisms not only have to invade but reach a critical mass before they can cause disease. Until then we are immune.

Recent studies have shown many healthy non-symptomatic people having the harmful E-coli strain within their gut flora. Yet they remain symptom free.

So what dictates micro-organism growth and reproduction. The answer is favourable conditions. Each micro-organism will need a certain set of conditions to flourish. Our internal environment is composed of sugars, salts, fatty acids, amino acids, coenzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, white blood cells, waste products and toxins. Therefore alter the internal environment and it can turn the balance of power to another micro-organism.

Diet, lifestyle, exercise, water intake, stress, emotional balance and sleep will affect the composition of our internal environment and thus which micro-organisms flourish.